Floyd Mayweather: Sergio Martinez Fight Much More Dangerous Than Pacquiao

Has anyone heard from Floyd Mayweather Jr.?

The last the boxing world saw of him was his May 5 defeat of Miguel Cotto and his subsequent trip to a Las Vegas jail to serve his sentence for battery. He has been oddly silent, particularly about his boxing future since then.

Meanwhile, on the Internet and in the boxing media, there have been tons of continued speculation about when a super fight with Manny Pacquiao would take place.

It has once again gotten to the ridiculous point. The fight is no closer than it was three years ago when it would've been truly special. There are bigger and better fights out there.

Pacquiao returns to the ring in December, facing rival Juan Manuel Marquez for a fourth time in a fight that could once again go either way. There's already talk of matching him with fellow Top Rank fighter Brandon Rios in the spring.

Meanwhile, other opponents of the non-Pacquiao variety have been floated for Mayweather, including junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez and recognized middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.

Alvarez is simply not ready for this level of opponent at this young stage of his career.

But Sergio Martinez is certainly ready. He would provide a much stiffer challenge to Floyd's zero than Manny Pacquiao.

Now this is not to say that a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight wouldn't be huge. It still would be from a business sense. And nobody is arguing that Pacquiao can't win.

He is still a top-level fighter and can't be counted out. But it's clear at this stage that his skills have slipped, more so than Mayweather's. 

Sergio Martinez, on the other hand, keeps getting better.

He's a late bloomer of sorts, having only received mainstream notoriety in the last few years. While he isn't as universally known as Mayweather or Pacquiao, he sits on many lists behind only those two as one of the best fighters in the world.

To dismiss him is simply ridiculous.

He's the recognized middleweight champion of the world. He hits with precision and power. He has great movement in the ring and has a warrior spirit.

Even coming down to 154 pounds, he would be the biggest and strongest fighter Floyd Mayweather has ever stepped into the ring with in his illustrious career. He won't melt under the pressure of being in there with the recognized best fighter in the world. 

Mayweather's most ardent defenders, of which there are many, would even agree at this stage that a fight with Martinez is the one out there that makes them a little nervous.

And with good reason. 

He is faster and hits harder than Cotto, who despite losing a unanimous decision, gave Mayweather a lot of uncomfortable moments. 

Pacquiao may indeed be the biggest fight for Mayweather in a business sense. But Martinez would be much more dangerous in the ring.